


Seeing For the First Time

by MelodyoftheVoid



Category: Invader Zim
Genre: Bad Parent Professor Membrane, Gen, He knows nothing, Sibling Bonding, but at least there are perks, gaz needs glasses, let dib and gaz be friends
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-03
Updated: 2020-06-03
Packaged: 2021-03-04 06:15:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,294
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24528988
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MelodyoftheVoid/pseuds/MelodyoftheVoid
Summary: Dib never learned to leave well enough alone.
Relationships: Dib & Gaz (Invader Zim)
Comments: 18
Kudos: 73





	Seeing For the First Time

“I don’t need them”

“Seriously I’m worried about you.”

“I don’t need your pity, I’m perfectly fine!”

A scream and a black screen cut the argument off in its tracks. Dib sighed as he went to get the broom from the closet, wincing when a controller hit the floor and shattered into a million pieces for the sixth time this week.

“Gaz, I’m telling you, you need to get glasses. That guy was clearly about to shoot you.”

“It’s not my fault the text is too small, and I don’t. Need. Glasses.”

Dib pinched the bridge of his nose, making a mental note to restock the painkillers. There was no way he was getting out of this conversation without at least four bruises. Sweeping the last of the plastic shards into the pan, he decided to push his luck. He was as stubborn as his sister after all.

“Gaz, you complain about not seeing the board at school all the time! I know you threaten the other kids to give you their notes. You know what? Let me try something.”

He discarded the remnants of the poor controller into the trash and nabbed the Membrane Notepad™ sitting on the kitchen countertop. Dib scribbled a quick note and stuck it onto the TV.

“If you can tell me what I wrote on this, I’ll drop the whole glasses thing. I promise.”

Gaz’s scowl didn’t move, only seeming to get deeper at the challenge.

“This is stupid.”

“Then prove me wrong.”

“I will!”

As stealthily as he could, Dib pulled out his phone and started a stopwatch, he had a sneaking suspicion that he’d be there for a while.

20 minutes passed and Gaz was still glowering at the sheet of paper. Dib was shocked that it hadn’t burst into flames yet. He’d seen Gaz do that once to a kid who had tried to take her GameSlave2. Almost burned the whole school down.

“You figured it out yet?”

A flash of pain and Dib was flat on the floor. Without missing a beat, he pulled out two pain pills and dry-swallowed.

“You just scribbled a bunch of nonsense to make fun of me. You’ll pay for that.”

“Nope. Look at the note.”

Muffled curses and a kick in the side were his reward for that remark. Dib simply lay on the ground, smug in his victory. The note fluttered down onto his face. “Dib has a big head” in large writing rested on his face for a moment before he blew it off. With a bit of effort Dib managed to get back on his feet, wincing at the ache in his ribs.

“So, do you admit that you _maybe_ need glasses?”

“Fine. Whatever.”

“Look once we get your prescription if you don’t like the glasses, you can use contacts! But we’re fixing this alright?”

“I ALREADY SAID FINE.”

“Ok, ok,” Dib put up his hands in mock surrender, “I’ll set up an appointment with my optometrist. It’s not going to be that bad I promise.”

Gaz stomped up to her room and slammed the door shut, ending the conversation in typical Membrane fashion. That could have gone much worse. At least he managed to get through to her. Now he just needs to find a way to keep her from murdering the poor sap who has to help her.

He did not envy that doctor.

The day of the appointment, Dib did his best not to flinch at the harsh clacking of his sister’s poor abused Gameslave. He could almost see the cracks in the plastic his father had special ordered for Gaz after she’d broken her first one as a small child. The fact she was angry enough to break it now made sweat run down his face. But he couldn’t back out now; his dad knew about it so there was no wiggle room if he was asked about it.

The professor seemed shocked when Dib brought it up, blinking in disbelief.

“Son. Are you sure this isn’t one of your insane fantasies?”

Oh, the words he’d wanted to say at that point. But no, Dib took a deep breath because he didn’t need to get into _that_ right now. 

“Dad. She couldn’t see a note I put on the TV from the couch.”

“Well then. I will have to make a call!”

Dib ended up being the one to make that call in the end. As usual. Shaking himself out of his thoughts, Dib pulled into the parking lot. He just wanted this to go well. For Gaz's sake and his own.

In the store, Dib watched Gaz glare at the many frames lining the walls, visibly disapproving the styles. The office here was familiar enough with his father to not need any credentials, being the offspring of the world’s foremost scientist had some advantages. Bloaty’s had a delivery man specifically hired for the Membrane household both for the benefit of the family, and the sake of the establishment.

No one makes his sister wait for pizza. No one.

“The doctor will see you now.”

Gaz walked past him towards the back office and fixed Dib with a stare somehow more intense than the previous ones, peering into his very soul.

“I will let you pick the frames, but they better be good. I don’t want to be here any longer than I have to.”

With that, she was whisked away to the back, leaving Dib alone with what felt like thousands of possible paths toward his doom.

Anything round was out of the question. Gaz made it clear she did _not_ want glasses that looked anything like his, so that ruled out like half of the store. No bright colors, no weird patterns, too big, too small, too ugly, too weird. If he weren’t out in public he’d be screaming.

Wait. There! He held the frames in his hands, trying to picture any argument Gaz could have against them. Dib crossed his fingers and hoped that he wouldn’t end up with another set of bruises.

Before he could tumble down that particular rabbit hole of anxiety for too long, the door to the back swung open, and the optometrist went on about mailing the glasses to their house in a few days and “If they have any questions please call”. Dib had no inclination to do that.

Gaz managed to get to the package when it came first, Dib came home to her staring at the box pensively, not even lifting her head when he closed the door.

“You going to stare at that box all day?”

Dib did his best not to snicker as Gaz almost fell out of her chair. 

“Don’t scare me like that you ass.”

“Payback is a mother Gaz, now seriously. Go try them on.”

Doing his best to channel his years of sneaking up on Zim, Dib followed behind her as she took the glasses out and put them on in front of the mirror. Doing his absolute best to not feel like a total creep.

Gaz looked into the mirror with wide eyes for the first time in Dib’s recent memory. At times, he forgot what her eyes looked like. She then turned to face him. Oh right. He was more than a black blob in the mirror now. Gaz looked at him, really looking at him and not just giving him a brief glance, and a genuine smile stretched across her face. Before he could say anything, she wrapped her arms around him before heading back downstairs to the couch.

“I hate it less than I thought I would. Good job doofus.”

“Really?”

“Yes really. Now, help me connect this controller, I need to make that asshole who killed me earlier pay.”

**Author's Note:**

> The Moo-Ping 10 Discord is bad for me and I love it. Gaz should wear glasses and that's that. As for what I think her glasses look like? [This mostly.](https://i.postimg.cc/DwkqzNnZ/images.jpg) At some point I'll do some art and put it in. Please also note I do not wear glasses and therefore this is not in any way accurate. This was an excuse for some sibling fluff and nothing more.


End file.
